An electronic cigarette is demonstrated in Chicago. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) introduced the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act on Monday, Jan 26, 2015.This bill would prohibit advertising and marketing e-cigarettes to children. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) is a coauthor of Esty's bill. less

An electronic cigarette is demonstrated in Chicago. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) introduced the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act on Monday, Jan 26, 2015.This bill would prohibit ... more

Photo: Nam Y. Huh, AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Image 2 of 5

E-cigarettes appear on display at Vape store in Chicago, Wednesday, April 23, 2014. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) introduced the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act on Monday, Jan 26, 2015.This bill would prohibit advertising and marketing e-cigarettes to children. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) is a coauthor of Esty's bill. less

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) is a coauthor of Esty's bill, the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act.This bill would prohibit advertising and marketing e-cigarettes to children.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) is a coauthor of Esty's bill, the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act.This bill would prohibit advertising and marketing e-cigarettes to children.

Armed with the knowledge that electronic cigarettes that taste like gummy bears appeal to kids -- not adults trying to stop smoking -- a trio of federal lawmakers sought advice from Connecticut teens Monday on how to stamp out what they perceive as a growing health threat.

"I am working with my colleagues in Congress to introduce legislation that will protect our children from this growing health scourge." U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Monday.

It is not the first time.

Legislation was submitted last year to try to tighten regulation on e-cigarettes; there were federal Commerce Committee hearings, but that was about it.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat liquid to deliver nicotine in a vapor, rather than delivering tobacco smoke.

This year, Blumenthal and others are reaching across the aisle to seek bipartisan support. They have results of a recent Yale study that finds one of four high school students in Connecticut have tried them, as well as new data in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows e-cigarettes, at high temperature settings, can release more formaldehyde -- a cancer causing chemical -- than traditional cigarettes.

Blumenthal wants legislation that would ban all marketing of e-cigarettes to young people and require labeling of ingredients. Many e-cigarettes are produced in China, where there is little if any oversight or regulation on ingredients or labeling, Blumenthal said.

"This should be bipartisan," Esty said, joining Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., on Monday at the Metropolitan Business Academy, a New Haven magnet high school, to talk with students about their perceptions of e-cigarettes.

Esty said at least one student in a group of about 30 they spoke to at the school library said he had tried e-cigarettes -- and all of the students said they knew someone who had.

"What is disturbing is that they all perceive e-cigarettes to be safer than real cigarettes, if not safe. They also view them as being cool," Esty said.

According to the Yale study, children who have not previously used traditional tobacco products have experimented with e-cigarettes.

Half of those middle school students cited in the study say e-cigarettes are the first tobacco product they have used. Among students who had never tried an e-cigarette, 26 percent indicated that they might use it in the future.

Manufacturers have touted e-cigarettes as safer alternatives to smoking because they have fewer chemical additives than cigarettes, and are not inhaled as smoke.

Esty said when e-cigarettes smell or taste like gummy bears, cotton candy or peppermint, they are designed to appeal to children.